


Growth

by Birdlovesafish (Motherbirdnerd), Motherbirdnerd



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Strangers to Lovers, Surprise pregnancy, Unwanted Pregnancy, pregnancy fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-12 21:42:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11170650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Motherbirdnerd/pseuds/Birdlovesafish, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Motherbirdnerd/pseuds/Motherbirdnerd
Summary: Betty and Jughead's one night of fun has consequences. Loosely inspired by the film "Knocked Up." Unbeta'ed. Mistakes are my own





	1. Conception

Chapter 1- Conception

  
     Betty Cooper is trying her best not to mess up the line of her lip by laughing but she is having a hard time of it as her sister dances around her happily, pre gaming with a shot of something from the liquor cabinet and twerking to Rihanna.

  “Work work work!” Polly sings as dances backwards into Betty and starts doing the bump with their butts.

   Betty finishes filling in her red lip and sets down her lipstick laughing, “You are _waaaay_ too excited to go out tonight, you’d think you were the one who got the big promotion, not me!”

“You don't understand, you’re young and unencumbered,” she pours herself another shot of what Betty thinks is whiskey, “You don't have a husband and two twins who never let you breathe! Betty I love Rose and JJ but I don't even know the last time I’ve gotten to _pee_ by myself!”

   Polly downs the shot, “So yeah! I'm looking forward to leaving Jason with the kids and shaking my ass with my little sis for a night!!” She resumes said ass shaking, checking her smoky eye in the mirror and making sure her breasts are firmly in place in the tiny black dress she’s wearing.

“Who’s a big TV News Anchor?”

“Well I'm not exactly an anchor, I'm the Entertainment report--”

“Who’s a big TV News Anchor?” Polly cuts her off, clearly not here for Betty's  self-deprecating caveats. Betty’s worked hard the past few years at the station, first as a Production Assistant, then a Producer and finally now she’s getting her shot to be an on-air personality. Polly is right, she deserves to gloat a bit.

“I am!” Betty squeals

“That’s fucking right!” Polly starts dancing up on her, “Work! Work! Work! Work! Work!” She begins to sing along badly and Betty joins in with her, absolutely butchering the Patois lyrics of the song. Polly pushes a shot into her hands which she downs without a second thought.

\----

    The girls arrive at the club, walking past the long line at Polly’s advisement. The bouncer lets them in without hesitation at the sight of their long blonde hair and legs that go on for days. Betty feels a little out of place in the black halter dress with complicated straps running across the back and the impossibly high ankle strap stilettos but she has to admit that she looks damn good as she passes a floor length mirror in the hallway, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

    The men in the bar seem to agree, trying and failing to get Betty and Polly to dance on them, with them. The pair keep declining, dancing only with each other until Polly needs a break to sit and rest her feet and they find a couch to crash on in the dark club. Polly rubs her feet, moaning and Betty offers to get them some drinks, the intensity of her sister’s moans beginning to make her uncomfortable.

    The bar is busy, packed with patrons up and down its length and Betty almost gives up on getting the bartender’s attention when another man slides behind the bar, tall and lanky in all black, wearing, off all things a grey beanie that looked like a crown.

“What can I get you?” He leans in closer to her ear to be heard over the din of the club and she feels gooseflesh spread down her arms at the tickle of his voice in her ear. He smells like tobacco and sandalwood.

“2 Rum and Cokes.”

“Coming right up.” He pulls back with a smirk and a wink and starts pulling the necessary components from the back of the bar giving Betty more time to study him. She finds nice broad shoulders and a cute tight ass. He’s thin but she spies the flex of his bicep and decides he must be well muscled under all that black.

    He’s handsome in that 90s era Leo DiCaprio way with his sleepy eyes and impossible bone structure, a dark sweep of hair falling perfectly imperfect over his left eye.

   She bites her bottom lip, thinking about how his ass would feel under her fingertips. and she wonders if maybe she and Polly have pre-gamed a little too hard. She is not usually the type to openly objectify.

   It’s been a long time since she’s gotten laid, not having much time for relationships or even connections while she tries to excel at her job. Maybe that’s the cause of the growing heat between her legs; disuse. Maybe tonight she could knock off some of the cobwebs, so to speak. Maybe he’d like to help her do _just that._

    She lets her hand linger a bit too long in her bosom as she pulls out a slightly sweaty 20 and hands it to him. She’s pleased to catch his eyes briefly roam her cleavage as she does so, before flitting back up to her face. _Respectful_ , she thinks, _but definitely interested._

“I’m Jughead.”

“Betty.” She smiles devilishly catching her bottom lip in between her two front teeth.

\------

“ _Betty_!” Jughead moans against the crook of her neck before biting into the flesh with light force, bucking into her hand which is wrapped around his sizable dick, groping mercilessly, small hand pumping away.

    It didn't take long to get here, small flirtations here and there during the night lead to him insisting on buying she and her sister’s drinks all night. Betty wants to turn him down at first, but Polly insists they take advantage of his hospitality. And boy _do they ever_. Betty feels a little pang of guilt in the part of her brain that was still not cloudy with alcohol, but he _did_ offer.

   Polly has to leave when Jason calls her in a panic about one of the kids shitting in the bed and Betty insists she’s fine enough to Uber home, that she’s in “fine company”.  
  
  Fine Company that listens to her gush about her new job, Fine Company that has a great dry wit and sense of humor. Fine Company that's really an aspiring chef, working at this club  to make ends meet while looking for a job in a fine dining establishment.

   Fine Company that leads her to the employee bathroom and locks the door. Fine Company is Jughead Jones the Third and he’s ravishing the shit out of her currently.

   Her head hits the shiny stainless steel of the handicap bathroom stall as he pushes his body fully against hers, kissing a trail up her neck, finding her earlobe and sucking it into his mouth. Her knees almost buckle at the feel of him worrying the sensitive flesh with his teeth and tongue. He senses this and lifts her up by her ass roughly, her legs wrapping around him, thankful for the increased contact of their lower halves.

    Her hand leaves his underwear and joins her other hand sinking deep into the dark thicket of hair at the base of his neck, holding on for dear life as his long fingers jerk her panties to the side and run the length of her wet sex. He pops the fingers coated with her into his mouth and sucks off her juices slowly.

“Fuuuuuccccckkkk” she drags out the word, getting more and more aroused by the second. “ _Fuck_!” She cries out as he sinks the digits inside her without warning and rests his thumb on her clit, drawing small tight circles with his calloused skin “Oh God!”

   He growls, swallowing her exhalation in a hungry kiss as she rides his hand to completion, a blinding white explosion of stars behind her eyelids as her back bows off the stall wall and her walls clench around him with a sated shout.

“If you don't fuck me _right now,_ I swear to God…” She pants into his mouth as he lets her fall back on her feet, the aftershocks of her orgasm beginning to die down.

“You’ll what?” He challenges, grabbing her by the waist and turning her around against the cold metal of the stall. He is rock hard against her and Betty leans into the sweet friction with a moan as he grinds against her ass.

“...That’s what I thought,” he smiles, pushing her dress up over her ass and yanking her panties down. Betty arches back towards him, never more ready for a dick in her life. He kneads her ass in his hands,deep hum of appreciation low in his throat. She whimpers as the head of his dick slides lightly against her soaked sex.

“You do have a condom right?” She breathes out, desperate to have him inside.

“Of course.” He digs it out of his pocket and rips it open with his teeth not bothering to check the expiration date. He rolls it on quickly and enters her in a swift motion that makes them both cry out.

“God you’re so fucking wet Betty!” He growls as his base instincts start to take over. His strokes getting deeper, faster.

“Harder Jughead!”

   Betty holds onto the slick surface of the wall as best she can as his pace quickens and he slams into her with abandon, fulfilling her request and then some. Jughead’s hand snakes to her front, giving her still sensitive clot attention once more, and soon she falls over the edge again into climax.

   His hand wraps around her hair and pull just enough to hurt as his hips snap into her without let up.

“I’m coming! Oh God! Fuck…” He ruts into her like an wild animal before he slows,spent. He pulls out of her, removing the condom and tying it off, throwing it into the tiny little trash receptacle next to the toilet paper.

    If he was less drunk he would have noted the lack of actual cum in the thing, the tattered state of it but _he_ was very drunk. _They_ are very drunk.

    Afterwards they exchange numbers and she let’s him keep her panties. A kind of consolation prize for him, since no matter what she says to the contrary as they step back out onto the club floor, she never intends to see him again. No matter how mind blowing the sex was.

   Little did she know how wrong she was about that.


	2. Raspberry : Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your Baby at Week 8: As your embryo starts moving in the womb, morning sickness (which doesn't just strike in the morning) may have you moving to the bathroom.
> 
> Or 
> 
> Betty realizes it and Jughead finds out.

> Chapter 2 - Raspberry

  
     The next few weeks are a blur as Betty settles into her new job at the station. There are so many events to attend and interviews to conduct and edits, _good God_ , so many edits. She barely knows if she’s coming or going most days, everything in her life such a whirlwind of activity, all at once exciting and terrifying.

     To top it all off, she’s caught a bug that's been going around the station from the Weatherman, who is _really big_ on hugs. A few days of violently barfing give way to an almost daily ritual of nausea and vomiting around lunchtime when all the smells from clashing cuisines mix into a thick, oppressive bouquet that sours her stomach.

     The sickness starts to affect her professional life one weekend while on assignment. Betty was to chat up a local fishmonger, an interview planned to highlight the opening day of Riverdale’s Fall Farmer’s Market season.

     The smell of fish packed on ice at the stand, although fresh, overwhelms her stomach and she has to throw the camera man her mic and dash to the nearest trash can to release her stomach of the two Sausage McMuffins she's wolfed down an hour previously.

    The fishmonger is left grinning nervously into the camera with the cringe inducing sounds of her emptying her stomach as a soundtrack.

     She apologizes profusely to the man, or she tries to at least. Everytime Betty re-approaches the stand she begins to retch violently and they eventually find a nice, pleasant smelling beekeeper for her to interview for the segment instead.

     Later that day her editor Kevin suggests pregnancy as they are wading through the morning’s footage and she pukes again into his tiny little trashcan, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand ungracefully when she’s done.

    Betty laughs him off. “It’s just that damn virus that’s been going around Kev. It's refusing to release its hold on me..which reminds me, I should probably try and squeeze a doctor’s appointment in _somewhere_.”

“Betty, no one’s had that virus in weeks. Also no one had it for more than a weekend.. Are you sure you’re not---”

  
“You have to have sex to get pregnant Kevin... _oh my god wait !_ ” She shrieks suddenly, thoughts of the raven haired bartender who had her face down, ass up in a club bathroom shooting to the forefront of her memory. She blushes scarlet.

Kevin quirks an eyebrow and smiles, “Fond memories, are they?”

“Shut up!” She cuts a face at him.

“I _can't_ be! We used protection,I saw him put it on for Christ’s sake!”

“Hate to break it to you Ross Geller, but you know condoms are only 97% effective right?” Kevin has gone back to reviewing the edit of the story, eyes fixed firmly on the monitor.

“No! No!” Betty hops up from her chair, “I must have just gotten some bad _Taco Bell_ today or something!” But _Taco Bell_ doesn't explain why she can't remember the last time she had her period.

“Sure ‘3%’...”

She scoffs, mouth wide open in disbelief at his words.

“I gotta get out of here…Let’s just go with this as the final edit ok?”

     He nods and raises his hand to his forehead in salute as a send off, eyes still intent on his work. She gathers her things in a hurry and heads for the door.

“There’s a CVS pharmacy two blocks from the station!” He calls out in a sing song voice as she retreats.

“You’re pure evil!” Betty hisses without much real venom, halfway out the door, hand clasping the handle.

“And you’re totally pregnant!” He bitches back with a smug smile.

     Betty slams the door with a growl, cutting off the sounds of his amused cackling. She fishes her phone out of her back pocket and dials her sister’s number as she walks down the hallway and out of the building.

“Polly? I need you to make a drugstore run with me…”

\-----

     The two sisters go overboard with the amount and variety of tests they procure at the pharmacy, but again and again and again the result comes out the same: Elizabeth Cooper is pregnant.

    There are blue lines, pink plus symbols and the biggest smack in the face of all: the digital ones that proudly flash “ **PREGNANT** ” across their digital screens, giving no room for abstract interpretation.

    They all serve to further peck away at the small shred of hope she had left that she truly was just sick with a dumb virus.

   Polly even takes one of the tests for solidarity’s sake and also as a control, as she had an IUD for birth control put inside her after the twins were born. IUDs Betty learned, were 99% effective against pregnancy.  
  
“Holy shit Pol…” Betty tears up, sobbing into the last test she holds in her hands. The tile of the bathroom floor is cold even in jeans and the knob to her sink cabinet is jabbing into her back.

    Polly wraps her arm around her sister, pulling her into a hug which Betty accepts readily, laying her head on her sister's shoulder with a trembling pout.

“It's gonna be ok Betty, I'm here, and you don't have to figure any of this out by yourself. You’ve got Jason, Dad, Mom…”

“ _Oh god,_ I have to tell Mom…” she croaks,bursting into a full sob at the thought of sitting Alice Cooper down and explaining a one night side to her. She plops her head into Polly’s lap, wetting her leggings with tears.

     Polly lets her cry on the floor of the bathroom for as long as needs, stroking her hair in a smooth repetitive motion as if soothing a kicked puppy. Betty calms down after awhile, lifting her head from her sister’s warm lap,her cheeks sticky and tear stained.

“I'm such a fuck up…” she laughs bitterly, “How could I let this happen Polly?”

“Betty you aren’t a fuck up,sweetie.It happens to the best of us...Hell! it happened to me, and I'm awesome.”

“Yeah, but you have Jason… he loves and supports you! ” Betty whimpers, “All I have is the memory of a one night stand with a guy who probably doesn't even remember my name!”

     Betty sniffs so hard she can feel sharp pressure behind one eye. Polly grabs behind her blindly onto the counter of the sink, feeling for the Kleenex box and she hands her sister a few tissues.

“Are you gonna tell the guy?What’s his name again? Souphead?”

“Jughead. ”she corrects, blowing her nose.

“Oh yeah cause that’s so much better…”

    Betty rolls her eyes, “Next time I get knocked up by a rando I'lln be sure he has a nice normal name like _Cole_ or _Cody_! That sound good Polly? _Hmm_?”

    Betty’s tone is clipped and sharp and before she realizes it her nails are beginning to dig into her palms. She takes a long shaky breath and releases her fingers and her aggravation for her sister. Polly doesn't mean anything by it, she knows.

“Should I tell him?” She asks softly.

“It's not my decision to make ,but if it were me, I would...especially if you decide to see this through. At the very least he won't be surprised when you hit him up for child support…” Polly snorts in laughter.

    Betty looks at her, thoroughly unamused and she apologizes “Sorry… sardonic humor is my way of relating to the world…”

“Hand me my goddamn phone…” Betty wipes her eyes with the back of her sleeve and sniffs hard into another corner of the tissue,clearing her nose again. Polly hands her the phone and she scrolls to his number.

“Bar Dick?” Polly cranes her neck over to look at her sister’s screen “Damn Betty! Nice one!”

_**Meanwhile...** _

    Jughead strides proudly into the back patio of the house he rents with his best friend Archie and his little sister Jellybean, a huge tray of burgers in his hands.

   Archie grabs one eagerly from the tray before Jughead gets a chance to set it down completely, coming to sit next to the nearly nude boy who studies the _Monopoly_ board in front of him intensely.

“Give it up babe, I’ve got you cornered,” Veronica smirks, running her free hand over her vast array of property cards, proudly. She is totally covered save her socks, in a classic white button up cuffed at the elbows like a _J.Crew_ model and black slacks. Pearls adorn her neck as they always do.

    Jughead spies almost all the railroads in her pile along with 2 hotels on Park Place. Archie was screwed, even with a respectable showing of houses in Marvin Gardens and Pennsylvania Avenue.

“She’s right man,” Jughead offers her a burger which she gladly takes, sitting the blunt in her other hand down onto a nearby ashtray.

     He bit into his own burger with purpose, “Resistance is futile my friend,” his voice came out muffled on account of the large quantity of food inside it, “You are losing this game of _Strip_ _Monopoly_ badly.”

“Jug!!!” Veronica exclaims, “This is amazing! Is that goat cheese and…” she took another sinful bite to consider the flavor profile once more, “... _Bacon jam_?!” She moans around another mouthful.

“She’s right bro. This is fucking amazing!”

“Yeah well tell that to all the restaurants that refuse to hire me.”

“ To be fair…” Veronica rolls the dice onto the board, “Doubles!” Archie frowns as she rolls again and passes ‘ **GO**!’ Earning herself another 200 dollars.

“To be fair,” she starts again, putting down her burger and picking up her blunt, “You’re a teensy bit stubborn..” She takes a drag and passes it to Archie as she inhales the smoke like a seasoned pro.

“And arrogant.” Archie rolls the dice and his face falls flat when he deduces that this roll was putting him right onto Veronica’s Park Place space. He takes a miserable puff from the blunt and passes it to Jughead. They continue in this way, conversing and passing the smoke around.

 ** _“I WIN!”_** She squeals, throwing her arms up in celebration and dancing in her seat as Archie slumps back in his chair, finally defeated.

“Me? Arrogant?” He scoffs, coughing as the smoke hits his lungs, “I just have...very strong opinions and I refuse to back down from them, what’s so wrong with that?”

“Juggie my dear,” Veronica smiles through a cloud of smoke, “You’re like me. We’re Alphas…”

“Alphas?”

“We’re fierce. Opinionated. I'm a lawyer, it works wonders for me…” she leans over and places the blunt between Archie’s lips, earning her a sly smile which she returns, kissing his cheek.

“You however,” she picks up the burger once more, “ Are in the cooking industry. Correct me if I'm wrong Wolfgang Puck, but if _Top Chef_ has taught me anything it's that executive chefs don't like it when you tell them their bouillabaisse recipe could use a 'little more salt' …”

“That happened one time! It was bland! Was I supposed to lie to the man?" Jughead grumbles, furrowing his brow.

“Point is,” she bites the burger and chews thoughtfully, “If Chef wants you to do what _he_ wants you to do, but you want to do what _you_ want to do, it will never work. Did that sentence make sense?”

  She quirks an eyebrow upwards and begins giggling, the effects of the plant clearly beginning to take hold. Archie joins in, her laughter becoming too contagious for him to ignore.

“Are you two quite done laughing over my pathetic life?”

“Sorry!” Veronica answers breathy from chuckling, “I'm just saying, you should like, be your own boss. Start one of those cool gourmet food trucks or something…”

“Have you seen my credit score?"

    Archie and V erupt back into medicated merriment as Jughead shakes his head, a smile playing on his lips as he keeps eating.

    The sliding door opens loudly with a creak just then and Jughead turns his head to see his baby sister padding towards him with his phone in her hand and a black silk robe tied loosely at the waist revealing a matching silk slip dress.

Jellybean tosses it to him as soon as she’s in close range, carding a hand through her shaved head.

“Must have fallen out your pocket when you came to bring Oleta and I dinner earlier. Been buzzing like crazy. Someone named ‘Bar Goddess’” she snorted, turning on her heel and going back  toward the house.

“Don't bother me for the rest of the night. Metaphorical sock on the door.”

“Message received.”

Jellybean disappears putting up a peace sign.

The phone starts up again.

“Ooooo!” Veronica teases, somehow in Archie’s lap since the last time he remembers checking, “Who’s Bar Goddess?”

Jughead ignores her, instead answering the phone.

“Hello?”

“Jughead?”

“Hi Betty...long time no see! How are you?” Jughead tries his best to keep his composure as Archie and Veronica starting making humorous humping motions with their hips and arms.

“I'm...It’s been a long time! I'm sorry, I meant to call you, I've just been busy--”

“Nah. You didn't,” he chuckled, “It’s ok I totally get it,” he assured her, “I've caught you on the Morning Edition a few times. You look really good. You're a natural, I mean.” He bites down hard on his lip to keep in the laugh threatening to escape as Veronica bends over the table and Archie pantomimes smacking her ass.

    He mouths the words “GO AWAY”  desperately, making wide sweeping arms motions until they geat the message and stumble inside, mouths all over each other.

“Is this a bad time to call? You seem distracted."

“I'm fine now. My roommate and his girlfriend were being dicks. They’re gone now, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Betty took a deep breath on the other end of the line, “Are you free anytime soon? I’d really love to get together and...talk.”

     Jughead swallows audibly . Does she mean talk, or _talk_? Is this a subtle invitation for another night of mind blowing sex? He’s not sure how to proceed. The night they’d met had been a total fluke.

     He never takes random girls from the club to employee bathrooms. But there was just something about her that night. It’s a dumb cliche but real nonetheless. She was sweet and interesting, driven and completely sexy and he’d liked her even before he got totally sloshed.

    His stomach twists. He did want to see her again and hopefully more times than thatZ Fuck he hopes he won't mess this up.

“I’m free tomorrow, if that’s not soon?”

“Tomorrow is good.”

\----

They meet at a classic little diner in the middle of town called _Pop’s_ at Jughead’s suggestion.

Over Texas Fries and strawberry shakes Betty learns that he worked at the restaurant during high school, Pop’s taking pity on him and taking him under his wing, showing him the ropes and fostering his talent for cooking.

“I always wanted a summer job. My mom never let me,” she smiles wistfully, “I did get to meet Toni Morrison once though, so not all bad I guess...” she shrugs stuffing a fry into her mouth and avoiding his striking green eyes as much as possible. They are too much, too piercing and she feels as if they’ll pull the ugly truth from her lips way too early in the evening.

She instead takes in the all the details of the restaurant in its aluminum, neon lit, vinyl boothed glory. She imagines coming here, watching Jughead sling burgers from the window with all the trappings of a school girl crush.

“I like this place. We don't have anything like this in Greendale where I grew up…”

“Betty?”

“Hmm?” Her eyes snap to his worried face.

“Are you ok? You’ve been kind of all over the place .”

She blinks. The moment had finally presented itself. Now or never. She gathers every shred of courage in her body and speaks.

“I'm pregnant.” Betty blurts, “It’s yours.”

“...Excuse me?” Jughead coughs on the water he’d been drinking, his eyebrows shooting up toward his hairline. His eyes have bugged out. It would have been quite comical literally any other time.

“I'm pregnant. With your baby.” Betty repeats, a little bit bolder this time.

“No...you must be mistaken, we used protection!

“Yeah well it obviously failed _sharp shooter!”_

“ _Fuck_ …” Jughead curses under his breath, sitting back on the pleather seat of the booth, completely at a lost.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Are you sure?” He asks suddenly frantic. “Could you have gotten one of those, those false positives? You’re sure it’s me? You’re gorgeous! “ he gestures the length of her body, “Surely I'm not the only person you--”

“It’s you.” She says firmly, not wanting to get into how her fierce drive and ambition have scared away scores of potential sexual partners.

    Betty sighs, “I took a lot of tests Jughead...I have a doctor’s appointment this weekend to confirm for sure...” she takes a breath, “Look...I’m perfectly capable of handling this by myself if you want nothing to do with..with _this_...” She gestures down to her stomach, not quite sure why she couldn't make herself say _baby_ just quite yet.

“...I completely understand. I just thought… maybe you might, uh...” Her words are beginning to get stuck in her throat, tears starting to prick the corners of her eyes. _Is it the hormones or did she always cry this easily?_ She wonders as she struggles to keep it together in front of this almost total stranger.

His hand comes across the booth and covers hers. squeezing it reassuringly.

“What time’s the appointment ?”

  Betty smiles and lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was dragging on too much so I decided to split it here. Expect the second part of Raspberry very soon! I hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. Raspberry Part Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead go to the doctor, Betty makes a decision and Jug gets a pep talk.

**Part 2**

     The waiting room is full of proud pregnant bellies and tiny babies, some bundled in blankets and snoring in car seats, some laid across one of their parents shoulders, being patted gently to sleep or to releasing gas. Most of the babies were in some stage of crying though.

So.Much.Crying.

“This is…”

“Awkward?” Jughead finishes and Betty gives a tight lipped smile and nods.

“That’s the word for it. Yes. My stomach’s in knots,” she confesses nervously.

“Yeah I know what you mean. I don't think I've eaten more than a few bites here and there today...I'm usually like a bottomless pit…” he trails off as a little tot with golden brown skin and a drooly grin stares at him, spit up flowing out of his mouth like lava. Jughead grimaces and looks away, turning his attention back to Betty.

“Have you eaten today?” He flinches inside at how awkward he sounds. He’s never been good at starting and sustaining conversations. Something about her makes him want to try his damnedest though.

“A bit. Most of it came back up on the way here. Morning sickness.”

“Harsh.”

“Yeah.”

   Awkward but companionable silence settles in after that, sustaining itself until the nurse calls Betty’s name and they retreat away from the loud din of noisy babies and overtired caretakers.

   Jughead is shuffled to the exam room as Betty supplies the nursing assistant with height and weight, with pee and blood, both of which the nurse takes for analysis without batting an eye.

  Once she is allowed into the room, Betty changes into the backless gown provided as Jughead shields his eyes, though she doesn't even ask him to.

   She knows she probably should feel a bit precious about him seeing her in the nude but her mind is a big bundle of nerves and confusion at the moment and well, it seems a bit silly to care about him seeing her when he already has an intimate knowledge of her nether regions.

    She plunks down onto the elevated examination table and the thin paper wrinkles loudly under her butt as she swings her legs nervously.

    Jughead sits in the chair next to her freaking as he stares around the room at all the foreign sights available in a obstetrician office.

   His eyes fixate on a 3D model of a woman’s womb complete with a removable fetus inside its swollen cavern. He swallows hard, chances a sideways glance at Betty’s gown covered stomach and feels his mouth go dry.

   A strong knock at the door breaks them from their silent reverie as Betty yells out to the doctor that it’s safe to come in.

“Good afternoon! I'm Doctor Hibbert. You must be Elizabeth!”

“Call me Betty. It’s nice to meet you.” She smiles politely and grasps the man’s hand in a firm shake. He is an older, black man with kinky salt and pepper hair and kindly eyes with deep set crow’s feet. He comes very highly recommended by her sister Polly.

“ Betty! I like that!” He laughs, a very distinctive _chortle_ that could quickly turn annoying if given the chance. For now however, Betty finds it endearing.

“You must be the father!”

“Jughead Jones. The Third.” He stands to shake the man’s hand and then flops back down into the chair.

   Betty quirks an eyebrow at the mention of him being the third person with such an awkward name. She files the tidbit of information about him away for a rainy day.

“Well Mr and Mrs Jones the Third...” they share an awkward look but decide to not correct the man, “Let’s see what we have here…”

  Doctor Hibbert goes through a whole battery of questions with Betty such as last known date of menstrual cycle, breast tenderness and a whole host of things that go over Jughead’s head as he tries to follow the conversation as closely as he can.

   Betty lays black on the table, scooting up to place her feet in the stirrups at Hibbert’s request . The man slides a condom over a very phallic looking instrument and Jughead shoots Betty a questioning look. She shrugs, just as lost panic flashing in her eyes.

“This is a vaginal transducer,” Hibbert explains noticing their quiet exchange, “it might be a little cold, sorry…” Betty hisses as it goes inside her.

“This...lets us look at the little guy growing inside your uterus!”

“So I’m really …?” Betty trails off, unable to finish the sentence. To make it real.

“Pregnant? Yes. Your blood and urine samples came back positive and this…” he chortles pointing to the screen and directing their attention to a grainy black and white screen where a strange peanut looking thing resides in a cavern of blackness, “..is your baby! I’d say you’re about 8 weeks along judging by what I’m seeing here Betty. Congratulations!”

   Betty’s lip begins to tremble as she looks at the screen,the doctor pointing out things like the fetus’ head as he jots down notes.Hibbert continues on, writing a prescription for prenatal vitamins, oblivious to Betty quietly losing her shit on the table above him.

   A fetus. A little person is inside her at this _very_ moment, its cells dividing and growing. A little person depending solely on her for its survival. She looks at Jughead who is staring at the monitor in a daze.

   It's also a life he helped create. It is completely overwhelming and she feels herself starting to drown in the emotion.

   She manages to keep it together through the rest of the visit, plastering on a smile as the Doctor congratulates them again.

   She even manages to thank him before he leaves. She can't help it, she is the daughter of Alice _“It’s all about how others perceive you”_ Cooper. Jughead watches all this with a keen interest, trying his best to decipher her true feelings.

  When the doctor leaves she finally lets go, a dam of tears flowing freely from her eyes.

   Jughead isn’t sure what the proper thing is to say in a situation like this. His head is still spinning with the confirmation of it himself,but he knows whatever he’s feeling she has to be feeling it at least 10 times worse so he tries his best to push aside the panic and be there for her in this moment.

“I’m sorry.” He decides to say finally, thinking it best to keep things simple. He tries to hug her; to offer some comfort but she pushes him away.

“I’m sorry…” she apologizes immediately, a reflex also from her mother, “I know you’re just trying to be nice, and I'm sure you are! But then again _I don't know you_ , not really ! You could be a **terrible** person!” Betty begins,blubbering.

She doesn’t quite know herself exactly where she is going with this line of thought. Everything is a jumble and she just needs to unload it onto someone and he is the lucky recipient of her dumpster full of emotions at this very moment.

“This is just a lot to take you know? 20 minutes ago I was hoping against hope for all those damn tests to be wrong, hell it would have made for a great exposé story for the station! Could you imagine? Defective pregnancy tests? _That’s ratings gold!_ ”

“I--”

“Not done yet.” Betty puts up a finger, “I’m getting to the point. I think. Point is, I'm freaking out right now and I need some space away from you because it's confusing the hell out of me! Also you smell really good and it's making me want things I shouldn't want…”

  Betty takes a deep breath inward as his hand lands on her shoulder,gathering up the fabric of the gown under his thick fingers, a light but insistent touch that did comfort her despite her insistence she doesn't want him touching her.

“Betty, I'm freaking out too. I’m trying to keep it all together and be “ **The Man** ” here or whatever toxic masculinity _bullshit_ , but I'm just as scared as you are. I don't know if that helps at all, but I just thought you should know you aren't going crazy alone ok?”

   She nods, breathing in his sandalwood and tobacco, the scent memory taking her back to that night at the club. She clenches her legs together, ramping down the arousal starting to bloom.

“Do you want me to go?” He can’t help but smirk a little at how cute she looks all flustered like this. He indulges himself with a small smile while she isn’t looking, her eyes closed as she takes another moment to breathe. He tucks in his smile as her eyes open and focus on his.

“Yes, please. I think that would be best.” _Please before I kiss you in this doctor’s office._

“Ok.” He nods, “Can I call you in a few days? Just to check in?”

“Fine.” She nods. He pats her on the shoulder once more and turns to leave, hand on the door.

“Jug!”

He stops and turns, halfway out the door.

“Thanks for coming with me. For what it’s worth, I don't actually think you’re terrible.” She allows herself a small smile and he smiles back. She tells the tiny little butterflies that develop in her stomach to _fuck off_.

“I’ll take it.” He chuckles, “Talk to you soon Betty.”

As he exits Jughead runs into Doctor Hibbert.

“Leaving so soon?” He laughs.

“Yeah well to tell you the truth things are pretty complicated. We’re not--” he hesitates not sure how to go about explaining their relationship to the man.

“No need to explain to me son. I see all kinds come through this office,” he chortles again and it's beginning to wear on Jughead’s nerves the tiniest bit. “After 20 years in practice I've learned not to judge.”

“Ok...well good. It was nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you again..” he goes to leave again but Hibbert puts a hand on his arm stilling his movement.

“Here. I was just coming by to give you two these. I think you should have one.” He presses a small square of matte photo paper into his hand. It's a print out of the sonogram image in all its simple black and white glory.

Jughead stares at it dumbstruck for a few moments before Hibbert’s laugh shakes him alert, the chortle grating now.

“Thank you.” He waves goodbye to the man and stuffs the image into his jacket pocket.

 

**A Few Days Later**

 

 

“Aunt BB why are you always at our house?”JJ asks playing with a baby carrot on the surface of his plate.

“Go home!” Rose agrees.

The twins, Rose and JJ giggle at their rude remarks as Betty plays along,feigning hurt at their words, her mouth falling open in an overdramatic ‘O’ shape and her hand going to her chest.

“She comes over here to see you two little demons,” Polly pipes in, annoyed with their manners, “Now finish your carrots, Mommy loves you _so_ _much_!” Polly morphs from stern to sweet all within the course of one sentence and Betty looks on in awe.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Polly asked cutting into her meatloaf, clueless.

“Go from zero to sixty like that. Mom used to do that too. Is that like a Mom thing or a You thing?”

“Oh that’s all her.” Jason walks in, cute little plastic cup in each hand full of grape juice. One tumbler is plastered with the image of _Captain_ _America_ which he hands to Rose who dips a red pigtail into it with a laugh. The other cup depicts the cast of _Steven_ _Universe_ which he hands to JJ.

“JUICE! Hell yeah!”

“Rose!” Jason scolds.

“Sorry Daddy...Heck yeah?”

“Good job baby girl! ” He smiles, kissing his daughters cheek before sinking into his chair at the head of the table next to Polly.

Betty shakes her head, holding back a laugh.

“So Betty...Congratulations on the baby...maybe? Yes? No?” Jason winces, regretting the words as they come out of his mouth.

Betty shrugs, “Maybe. Wanna see the sonogram?”

“ _Yes_!” Polly answers.

“No, seen them once you've seen them all.” Jason answers at the same time and Polly rolls her eyes at her husband as she takes the paper from Betty.

“BB you have a baby in your belly?” Jason Jr. asks sweetly, his sticky juice mustache framing his darling smile.

“Well,um..” Betty was at a loss for how to respond. How does one go into the finer points of being Pro Choice with a five year old? If she says yes now and then decides to terminate the pregnancy how does she explain that? If she says no then she’s lying, but was that really _so_ _bad_?

The simple question feels like it’s coming from the universe, siphoned down from the stars and channeled into her sweet nephew with his ginger curls and eyes just like Polly's.

  She thinks about the little being growing inside her and she looks at her niece and nephew and she feels _excitement_  instead of dread for the first time since she took the test.

There is fear there of course,deep and unrelenting but she finds herself for the first time truly wanting this.

She wants to see the fetus grow into a baby. She wants to hold the baby and sing to it, she wants to experience all the milestones good and bad.

She figures it has to be a sign and so she answers after a short silence:

“Yes. I'm having a baby. Are you excited for me J?” She catches Polly’s expression: she looks over the moon with happiness.

“Only if you have a boy.” JJ replied tipping his cup up to his mouth to take another big swallow.

“I’ll see what I can do J, but I don't really get to choose.” She chuckles.

“Oh Betty! Another Cooper baby! I'm so excited! When are you due?”

“June 28th I think?”

“ _Awwww_ a _summer_ _baby_!!” Polly coos, clasping her hands together.

“Congratulations Betts!” Jason claps a hand on her back. “I’ll try my best to rein my sweetie here in, but no promises. You know how persistent you Cooper women are.”

“You love it.” Polly states confidently, moving in for a kiss.

“Yes I do.” Jason confirms closing the difference between them and kissing his wife softly. Betty sighs softly at the display, drowning out the sounds of the disgusted children. Jughead flashes through her head ever so briefly.

 _Maybe we can make_ _this_ _work_ , she thinks with a smile,reminding herself to call him later.

\----

“So you got a girl pregnant, she’s told you she’s keeping it and you’re shitting yourself. Did I get all that right?”

   F.P. Jones leaned back in his lawn chair, lukewarm bottle of beer in his hand. His son Jughead sat next to him in the other lawn chair in front of his trailer.

“Pretty much… She also still wants to date me. She likes me. _Me_! Can you believe that?” Jughead shakes his head in disbelief taking a pull from his own beer. He remembers their conversation when she called to tell him her decision.  
  
\------

_“I've decided I'm going to keep the baby Jughead.”_

_“Wow...ok, ok...so we’re doing this.”_

_“Your on board?”_

_“I told you: You’re not alone in this. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”_

_Betty laughed, “Is it terrible if I don't have any fucking clue what comes next?”_

_“Yes,” Jughead deadpans, “It’s absolutely terrible.” Betty erupted into laughter and he gave into the contagious nature of the sweet sound as well, his laughter mixing with hers. They laughed for a good long while even after the humor wore off, perhaps laughing at their situation instead, laughing at how life threw them together._

_“Jughead?”_

_“Yeah?”_

“ _I think I like you…”_

_“I like you too.”_

_“Would it be weird if we tried to give this thing a shot? Like dating?”_

_“Yeah. But weird could be our thing. Don't know if you know but I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. Have you ever seen me without this hat? That’s weird.”_

“ _Stop…” Betty wheezed between laughs, “I can't take it!”_

\-------

“This tastes like shit Dad…” Jughead screws up his face, setting the bottle down next to his feet.

“Dad... you know I love you and we’ve come a long way since high school. But...I didn't really have the best example of a father m figure growing up...I'm barely making rent, I can't get anyone to hire me in a real honest to god kitchen..” he sighs, fishing a pack of Marlboros out of his denim jacket.

“I'm barely taking care of myself. A baby, Dad? Who am I kidding?” He plucks a cigarette out and puts it between his lips.

“You could always just take yourself out of the picture. Write a check every month. There’s respect in that. Is that what you want?”

“No.” Jughead answers so quickly it almost scares him. He lights the cigarette. “No I want to be there for him...her whatever it decides it wants to be. Besides, I already promised Betty that I would be there every step of the way.”

“Then you figure it out. I have faith in you, you practically raised JB before your mother left...I know it had to be hard on you...Thing like that comes natural to some folk and you’re one of those lucky few. I think you’re more ready than you give yourself credit for Forsythe.”

“Thanks Dad. You actually made me feel better.” Jughead is surprised and he doesn't hide it in his voice. He shoots his Dad a sideways grin as he blows smoke out of his nostrils.

“Anytime son, anytime.” F.P. grins back. “Now finish that beer. You know we don't waste alcohol in this house.”

Jughead laughs picking it back up and taking a swig as the sun starts to set on the trailer park.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bout that chick on part 1 I told y'all I was creeping with, creeping with. Said she's 2 months pregnant and she's keeping it! 
> 
> If you understood that reference you and I are best friends now, so just let me know down in the comments when I can come over and braid your hair LOL. Also wondering if anyone caught the other goofy pop culture character I slipped in :)

**Author's Note:**

> Always check your expiration dates kids! That 3% error is always looming lol


End file.
